NHL's brotherly love is nothing new

NHL filled with history of brotherly love

The weekend’s NHL draft unexpectedly turned into a family reunion, thanks to a pair of high-profile players being traded to the teams that already employ their brothers. The Penguins made the first move on Friday, dealing Jordan Staal to the Hurricanes where he will team up with his brother Eric. The Maple Leafs followed suit on Saturday, finally pulling the trigger on a long-rumored trade that made Luke Schenn a teammate of brother Brayden on the Philadelphia Flyers.

But while it was an interesting quirk to have both deals made within 24 hours of each other, it is not all that unusual to see brothers sharing the spotlight in the NHL. From the Richards to the Espositos to the Sedins, the league has a long history of siblings sharing the ice as both teammates and opponents.

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Here is a look at some of the other NHL brother acts that have played together or otherwise crossed paths during their careers.

Rich and Ron Sutter: Became the first set of identical twins to suit up for the same NHL team during the 1983-84 season in Philadelphia, marking the only time that Flyers opponents were able to see double without first getting sucker-punched off the opening faceoff.

Rob and Scott Niedermayer: Won a Stanley Cup together in Anaheim in 2007 while establishing themselves as prototypical Brian Burke players, in the sense that neither one of them has any idea how to play goal.

Saku and Mikko Koivu: In addition to being brothers, both players have been NHL captains who have been criticized for not communicating properly in the local language; Saku in Montreal, because he could not speak French, and Mikko in Minnesota, because he is able to properly pronounce vowels.

Max, Doug and Reg Bentley: A goal by Reg in 1943 marked the first time in NHL history that three brothers all recorded points on the same goal and it will sure be fun to do the same thing in Carolina in a few years, says Marc Staal before realizing he probably wasn’t supposed to say that last part out loud.

Peter and Miroslav Ihnacak: Grew up dreaming of playing together for an NHL team, but tragically had to settle for the Harold Ballard-era Maple Leafs instead.

Tomas and Frantisek Kaberle: The two brothers never got the chance to be teammates in the NHL, and since Frantisek now plays in the Czech league the only logical thing is for Tomas to go play there too, according to the steady stream of Canadiens fans constantly pulling up to him on the street and offering him a ride to the airport.

Paul and Gino Cavallini: The St. Louis Blues teammates each earned NHL honours in 1990, with Paul taking home the “NHL Plus-Minus Award” and Gino winning the “Name most likely to make you giggle uncontrollably whenever you say it because you are eight years old”.

Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn: Have played together for both the Montreal Canadiens and the Nashville Predators and could do it again for a third team, assuming Sergei is willing to play for whatever Sunday night rec league team David Poile sends Andrei to.

Pavel and Valeri Bure: While he was excited to get a chance to play with his brother in Florida during the 2001-2002 season, Pavel admitted to being somewhat less enthusiastic to discover that the back of his Panther’s jersey would read “DJ Tanner’s Brother-in-Law”.

Wayne and Brent Gretzky: Despite a short career that saw him record only four points, Brent co-holds the NHL record for most combined points by two brothers, with 2,861, as well as the record for most times being informed of this fact while politely gritting his teeth and pretending he has never heard it before.

Ulf and Kjell Samuelsson: Although many people assumed they were brothers when they were Pittsburgh Penguin teammates, they were not actually related in any way, according to the shrieks of a terrified Kjell as Cam Neely punches his way through his front door screaming, “Where is he?”

Malcolm and PK Subban: First-round pick Malcolm has assured scouts that he is not as eccentric as his older brother, marking the only time in recent history that a Boston Bruins goaltender has been described as “the level-headed one”.